6 Ways To Optimize Content for the Era of AI-driven Content Discoverability6 Ways To Optimize Content for the Era of AI-driven Content Discoverability

Content creators can deliver impactful content that continues to capture attention and loyalty by focusing on the kind of content that only humans can create

Sara Faatz, director of technology community relations at Progress

January 16, 2025

6 Min Read
A creative meeting
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The reality of AI has fundamentally shifted the parameters for how we find and consume information. Gone are the days when a simple Google search sufficed. Now, AI-powered search engines and assistants are reshaping our expectations and habits around content discovery.

Since AI offers great advantages for content development, it has emerged as a critical tool for creativity and efficiency. Yet for marketers and content creators, this shift to AI-based content creation presents both challenges and opportunities.

Marketers can thrive in this new landscape if they take the right approach to adapting content for the AI era; this involves creating high-quality, unique content, structuring it effectively for AI systems and being mindful of ethical considerations.

The Changing Landscape of Search

AI has added a whole new dimension to the ‘static’ online search capabilities we took for granted. For instance, nowadays when planning a weekend away, a busy city-based worker might just ask an AI assistant for some destinations within a two-hour drive of London. Beyond simply providing a list of popular locations, the embedded AI tool will also offer some additional connected data – such as descriptions of the locations, estimated travel times associated weather conditions and even recent customer reviews.

This scenario highlights the superior capabilities of AI to provide more contextual and conversational information. Aside from just the matching of keywords, it takes a more intuitive approach and delivers personalized results that can be refined with each question that is asked.

Adding Authenticity to AI-generated Content

It’s not just changing how we now find content, it’s how we create it. Generative AI (GenAI) tools can produce human-like responses on almost any topic. That said, anyone who has experimented with this knows that this new era of AI-generated content is a double-edged sword for discoverability. It may mean more content is available than ever before, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult to generate authentic, quality content purely from AI’s extensive knowledge base.

For instance, a scenario such as this: a small business owner, who runs a specialty tea shop was relying on his blog posts about tea selecting techniques to attract customers. Now, his blog often gets lost in the noise of the thousands of AI-generated articles on tea topics.

To keep the narrative compelling for readers, the owners must now focus on what AI can’t replicate: bringing out the human element – personal experiences, unique insights and local expertise to resonate with the audience. This brings to light that authenticity and genuine, human perspectives are more valuable than ever.

How AI Has Changed Content Consumption

There are some clear ways that AI has impacted content consumption: Most particularly superior personalization and information overload.

  • Hyper Personalisation

AI is delivering a level of content personalization that was previously only theoretical. More than recommending content based on previous user behavior, AI can align content in real time to individual preferences.

For example, a website can personalize its homepage for each visitor depending on their news consumption preferences to keep readers engaged and build loyalty. While for an environmentally conscious reader, the AI might prioritize articles on sustainability and climate change, for a sports fan it might give match results and highlights.

  • Rising Above the Noise

Now that AI makes it easier to create and find content, consumers face an overwhelming amount of information. This makes it harder for a single piece of content to stand out in the noise. As AI gets better at understanding and ranking content, it will become crucial to demonstrate expertise, trustworthiness and depth of analysis for your content to become discoverable.

  • Optimising Content for AI Discoverability

The lines are also becoming blurred between search engines and social media platforms. As search engines are incorporating more social and real-time content, social posts, comments and discussions are increasingly being indexed and factored into search results.

For instance, someone searching for reviews of a new smartphone might ask an AI assistant to provide the best information. The AI will offer information from review websites, and even provide relevant tweets and TikTok videos, to give the most comprehensive user opinion on the topic.

AI is also increasing the popularity of voice and visual search, which is changing how people look for information and their expectations around the kind of content they can retrieve.

For example, a consumer can snap a photo of an unfamiliar vegetable at a supermarket and ask their AI assistant what it is and how to cook it. The AI can then share a thorough overview from origin and nutritional value to recipes from a single image.

6 ways for Marketers to Optimise Content in the Era of AI

There’s no doubt that marketers and content creators must adapt to this new era of AI-driven content discoverability. Here are six considerations to make that happen:

  1. Unique, High-Quality Content: As AI generates vast amounts of content, this increases the value of the content that only a human can create. It must be unique and creative. If content creators focus on personal experiences, insights and local knowledge that AI can’t replicate, their content will stand out in the crowd.

  2. Evolve SEO Strategies: The way people are searching has fundamentally changed. They are asking questions, not typing in keywords. Therefore it’s no surprise that optimising for keywords alone is not enough. Content needs to answer the questions your customers are asking. It needs to be comprehensive and succinct, to match the variety of nuanced queries AI can handle.

  3. Embrace the Potential of AI: Try not to feel threatened by AI. Instead, make it work for you to handle routine tasks, which frees you up to carry out more creative, strategic work.

  4. Consider Mediums Outside of Text: As voice and visual search increases in popularity, content creators should optimize not just for text-based search, but also for voice and visual queries, considering how content can be structured to answer specific questions or provide information based on visual inputs.

  5. Let the Human Side Shine Through: Humans have a unique capacity for critical thinking, creativity and emotional intelligence. By encouraging more meaningful interactions, content creators will build a loyal following. Since AI can’t replace human creativity, emotion and lived experiences, unique perspectives will give the authenticity that AI can’t.

  6. Experiment: As the AI landscape is continually evolving, keep constantly learning and adjusting strategies to work with it. Don’t be afraid to experiment.

Reshaping the Information Ecosystem

The potential of AI to change content discoverability is indisputable. It is not only changing how we search for information; it’s reshaping the entire information ecosystem. The secret is not to feel challenged by AI as a replacement for human creativity, but to find ways to work alongside it as a tool that can enhance our abilities.

By focusing on the kind of content that only humans can create – unique, empathetic, genuine and creative - content creators will deliver impactful content that continues to capture attention and loyalty.

About the Author

Sara Faatz

director of technology community relations at Progress, Progress

Sara Faatz leads the technology community relations team at Progress. With more than 20 years in the software development space, she has spent the majority of her career building community, producing events, forging partnerships and creating content and marketing programs from the ground up. She is a mom, a wife and a woman in tech who is a passionate advocate for equality and diversity.

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